Assessing the Role of Teachers’ Unions in the Adoption of Accountability Laws in Public Education

• In Event: Teacher Unions and Educational Governance

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between collective bargaining power of teachers’ unions and states' adoption of accountability policies in the context of the No Child Left Behind Act. Our analysis of pooled cross-section data shows that teachers’ unions are not against the adoption of stronger accountability laws. We also find that the political party control and the region of the states moderate the effect of teachers’ unions on the adoption of accountability laws. However, the teachers’ unions seem to resist the adoption of stronger accountability laws only in Republican controlled southern states. Our findings refute the view that teachers’ unions are reform blockers and that they are politically aligned with only the Democratic Party.

Authors

• Nandan Kumar Jha, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Neena Banerjee, University of North Carolina - Charlotte